SEC Drops Ripple Case—After Years of Fighting, Regulators Finally Admit They Were Making It Up As They Went Along
In a stunning about-face, the SEC quietly settled its high-profile lawsuit against Ripple Labs—essentially conceding that its own rulebook was scribbled in invisible ink. XRP rallies 18% on the news while legacy finance lawyers scramble to bill another 2,000 hours.
The takeaway? Crypto outlasts the bureaucracy again. Now watch as Wall Street ’experts’ who called XRP a security for years suddenly pretend they always supported the ’nuanced approach.’
Ripple expands its connections
Now that the lawsuit is behind it, Ripple has its focus back on expanding globally. The company recently purchased Hidden Road in an acquisition for $1.25 billion, which bolsters the company’s position in both brokerage and traditional finance settlement.
In a bolder move, Ripple allegedly increased its proposed offer to acquire Circle’s USDC issuer to more than $20 billion from $5 billion. Bloomberg sources said the deal is being actively negotiated.
If Ripple succeeds, it will take possession of the world’s second-biggest stablecoin and change the balance of power in the stablecoin market. The acquisition comes as Circle has recently filed for a U.S. IPO and is taking a cautious approach in public markets.
Ripple’s international progress is also marked by its payment corridor developments. Ripple continues to work with SBI Remit in Japan to power faster, cheaper remittances, using XRP as a bridge asset. It joins MoneyGram and Stellar in creating real-world utility for crypto in cross-border payments. Ripple’s model cuts down on foreign exchange costs and allows users to eliminate the necessity of pre-funded accounts in underbanked markets.
XRP ETF odds climb
The growing prospect of an XRP spot ETF approval has grabbed the market’s attention. Polymarket data shows that the probability of approval by the end of 2025 has risen to 78% from 65% in recent weeks.
Analysts say that the SEC’s passive stance and quiet acceptance that XRP ETF filings can be filed indicate that approval could already be happening. If approved, the XRP ETF will expose institutional and retail investors to XRP while avoiding the need to hold the token directly. The move would follow in the footsteps of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, which have already opened the floodgates on capital inflows.
XRP is trading at $2.20 after rising over 5% over the last 24 hours. The coin’s volume is currently over $2.1 billion. Investor behavior also points to optimism. However, Santiment also noted that whale wallets holding between 10 million and 100 million XRP have added 200 million tokens this week.
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